The league is looking for players interested in joining extra games when teams are short players due to vacations and other conflicts. When teams need players, we will use this list first to fill out a roster.

Concessions shifts have been added through the end of the season to cover the end-of-season tournament. If you have not fulfilled your commitment for the 2015 season (2 hours per player), please take a shift over the next two weeks! Families who have not satisfied this volunteer requirement will be assessed the buy-out fee for this year, which must be paid before registration next year.

Come cheer on the Mallards as they take on the Kenosha Kingfish, Saturday, June 20 at 6:05 pm! We have a block of tickets reserved as a fundraiser for Verona Little League. $3 from each ticket sale will come back to VLL.

VLL players from the Minors division will be playing on-field for the pre-game American Family Insurance “Field of Dreams” game!

You can choose to add either a Mallards hat; an all-you-can-eat, pre-game Pepsi Tailgate (4:30 pm – 6:05 pm); or both to your ticket purchase. See the flier below for all the details. Bring as many friends and family as you can recruit! When you are ready to order,

The 32nd annual Little League Night with the Brewers takes place on Tuesday, June 16, this year.

Grab friends and family for a great night out at Miller Park!

Show up early, and your player can join teams from leagues across the state in a parade around the field before the game starts. The Brewers follow in an interleague game against the Kansas City Royals.

Pre-game organization starts at 5 pm with the game at 7:10 pm. Those participating in the parade should read the instructions for players and coaches released by the Brewers. It is very important that each player and coach have a ticket as the parade begins since they will enter the stadium turnstiles at a special entrance. This year, players will also receive a Brewers bobblehead after the parade!

Little League Night is a great fundraiser for our league: half the price of each ticket is donated to VLL. Recruit as many fans as you can!

Download the order form below. Orders and money must be turned in at the Complex by June 12 or mailed to Gary Nilles by that date (see form for details). Teams that would like to sit together can turn in orders together. Our VLL tickets are all in one section of the stadium.

You can add a comfy motor coach bus ride to and from Miller Park for only $15 per seat! Buses leave from the Complex parking lot and will arrive early enough for players to participate in the pre-game parade.

Here is this year’s schedule for team photos. They will be taken by Empire Photography in the green space between 5th Quarter and Lund. The times below are when teams will begin taking photos. Players should arrive early and in full uniform for the team picture. Families have the option to purchase team and/or individual pictures.

Spirit Wear

2015 VLL logo apparel is available once more for order at this special online store. The deadline for ordering is Friday, June 5. Spirit apparel will ship directly to you a few weeks after this deadline. See the flier below for details.

Opening Day festivities start at 11:00 am, this Saturday, April 25!

No matter when your team plays, come be a part of the celebration and help us kick off the season.

Opening Day Ceremony

To celebrate the start of our season, teams will be introduced and assemble on Lund field at 11:00 am.

Players

Players should dress in their team uniforms and arrive by 10:15 am to find their coaches and teammates. Teams will line up in order around the Complex building between 10:30 and 10:45 am.

Parking

Our parking lot will be extremely full with several games starting early Saturday morning.

If you live close by, the weather is not bad for biking or walking. Remember that the Military Ridge Trail is right behind the Complex. If you drive, other nearby parking will be less crowded, including:

Hometown Circle, the street in front of Farm & Fleet

Community Fields, the lot between Eagles Nest and Stampfl Field

Please use the crosswalk at the light if you park on Hometown Circle and need to cross Verona Avenue. Walking paths connect the VLL Complex and the lot at Community Fields. Please avoid parking in the lots of our neighboring businesses for VLL Opening Day or games.

NOTE

Old PB and Maple Grove Rd. are closed at Verona Ave. through late May due to construction. Cross Country Rd. to Enterprise Dr. from the north or Whalen to Main St./M from the south are good alternatives. The Park & Ride at Old PB and Verona Ave. is also closed and is not an option for extra parking this year.

Raffle Tickets

Calendar Raffle tickets will be sold before the Opening Day ceremony at 11am. Anyone who has paid for raffle tickets but not yet picked them up and filled out the stubs should complete them and turn them back in before the ceremony.

To be eligible for the Opening Day $500 drawing, all raffle tickets must be purchased and stubs returned by NOON, Saturday.

Fill out and submit the on-line application by Monday, April 13. Training sessions will be held on Tuesday, April 14, and Thursday, April 16, at 6 pm at the VLL Complex. All prospective umpires must attend one of these sessions before being scheduled for games. Umpires need to be 12 or older as of April 1, 2015.

NOTE: Due to game conflicts, we have added a special training session for high-school baseball players who would like to ump this year. This session will start at 7:30 pm on Tuesday, April 14. We are aware that Freshmen will be traveling back from Janesville that evening. Please attend as much as you can. If you have already registered and would like to attend this session, please e-mail Heith Dey (vllumpire@gmail.com).

If you are a first-year umpire and need all new equipment or are a returning umpire and need to replace equipment, please bring money to the clinic for purchase. The cost is $9.00 for an Umpire shirt, $3.00 for a clicker, and $3.00 for a broom. However, new umpires receive a $10 credit, so you will only need $5 cash to purchase all of your equipment. Returning umpires receive a $6 credit for whatever replacement equipment is needed.

Please share this info with anyone who may be interested in umpiring for VLL this year. Playing in the league is not a requirement.

Thanks to Heith Dey, who is taking on our Umpire-in-Chief position this year. If you have questions about umpiring this season, please e-mail him at vllumpire@gmail.com.

Update (3/18): All team sponsor spots have been filled for 2015. Thank you, sponsors! If you are still interested in sponsoring VLL this year, consider becoming a field sponsor. Contact Troy Mitchell (troy.mitchell@associatedbank.com) for details. Jim can also add a business in queue for team sponsoring next year if we have openings.

With increased participation this year, VLL has a few more teams than last year. We are looking for a couple more sponsors! Team sponsors have their logo printed on the back of a team’s jersey and are matched to the team of a sponsor’s player whenever possible. Sponsors are also recognized with an entry our website containing business details and a logo (which also appears occasionally on our home page).

The rates for sponsoring a team are:

$350 for one year

$650 for two years

$900 for three years

If you are interested in sponsoring a team, please contact Jim Kawecki (jim@mybrandedimage.com) as soon as possible. Drafts are quickly approaching when teams will be determined.

As in years past, Dick’s Sporting Goods is providing special coupons for VLL families when purchasing this season’s gear. Grab them here! These deals are good all the way through August.

This year there is a one-day, extra-special deal. On Saturday, April 18, from 11am to 4pm, the West Towne DSG will be giving a 20% discount to all VLL participants on most store items (see coupon for details).

To take advantage of this offer, simply print out the flier attached below, stock up for the season, and present your coupon on check-out!

Spirit Wear

2015 VLL logo apparel is available for order at this special online store. The deadline for ordering is Sunday, March 22. Spirit apparel will ship directly to you a few weeks after this deadline and should arrive by Opening Day. See the flier below for details.

Baseball Equipment

This year, we also offer discounted shoes, apparel, and other baseball accessories. You can place an order for these items by phone through April 16. They will ship directly to you within a few days. Ordering details and our special discount code are on the top of the flier below.

Why Assessments are Important

The Skills Assessment is not a tryout.

All players registered by the March 1 deadline are guaranteed placement on a team.

During assessments, coaches evaluate players’ current baseball skills at a series of stations. This process gives each division a chance to create more balanced teams during their draft. Teams are chosen using knowledge of all players, with the help of observations made at assessments.

Simply encourage your player to come to the assessment and put forth the same effort that he/she would in a game during the season.

What to Expect

You should receive an e-mail this week with the exact assessment time slot for your player.

Please show up at BRMS a few minutes before your time slot to check in at the information tables. An assessment lasts about 30-45 minutes.

Players will be running, hitting, catching, and throwing. They should have comfortable athletic clothing, clean gym shoes (NO CLEATS), and a glove. They are welcome to bring a bat, although it is not required. There will be an assortment of bats provided in the gym. Players will NOT need batting helmets, catcher’s gear, or any other special equipment.

Parents are not allowed in the gym during assessments. We will have coaches there to help guide younger players from station to station.

Assessment Extras

Here are some other items for parents to focus on at assessments:

Concessions Signup

Revenue from our concession stand is a major source of income for the league. Healthy sales help keep our registration fees from increasing and our fields looking great. To keep operating costs to a minimum, families are required to volunteer two hours per player. If you would like to reserve a volunteer shift before assessments, visit the concessions volunteering page. Otherwise, we will help you reserve a spot on Sunday.

Filling another key VLL position (coach, team parent, board member, etc.) satisfies this volunteering requirement, too. Families may also buy-out of volunteering at $75 per player. However, your time is valued far beyond this amount!

Raffle Tickets

Every family will receive five calendar raffle tickets, which were paid for along with registration fees. You can fill out these five and turn them in immediately at assessments. If you would like to sell them to family and friends, they can be turned in at the VLL Complex (when open) any time before Opening Day. Additional raffle cards will also be available to purchase for $10 each while supplies last. There will be one winning entry drawn every day during the season. A winning card goes right back into the drawing, giving you another chance to win. More than $6,000 will be raffled off throughout the season. Winners will be posted on the Calendar Raffle page.

Apparel & Gear

Browse samples of the 2015 VLL custom-branded apparel before placing your order at our online store this year. The deadline for ordering is Sunday, March 22nd. Spirit apparel will ship directly to you.

This year, we also offer discounted shoes, apparel, and other baseball accessories. You can place an order for these non-branded items by phone whenever convenient. They will ship directly to you within a few days. A representative from Eastbay will be available during assessments with samples and ordering details.

Volunteering

Assessments are a great time to hit up a VLL board member with all your questions about volunteering. There will be several current and past members around who can provide details about positions that help keep our league running. We have a number of board positions that are still open this year and more that will be open next season. Find out about upcoming meetings and where we need the most help this year!

All coaches must attend at least one of the clinics run by Wildcat Head Coach Brad D’Orazio. Two session are offered on Sunday, March 29 at the Verona Indoor Hitting Facility, just behind the stands at Stampfl Field.

3:00 pm: Intro to baseball coaching and fundamentals. Recommended for Rookies and any new coaches.

4:15 pm: General coaching and skill-building for youth players.

Each one-hour session also contains safety training, which is required for all coaches by Little League International. You can attend both of these sessions.

April 9, 5:30-9:30 pm: Edgewood College. Learn skill-building techniques and how to deal with on-field injuries and emergencies. Led by head coach Al Brisack. Cost covered by VLL.
Location: Edgewood College – Todd Wehr Edgedome.

The Edgewood clinic is highly recommended to new coaches or anyone who has not attended this clinic before. Eagles head coach Al Brisack demonstrates a wide array of great drills and practice techniques. Simply sign-in when arriving, note your VLL affiliation, and the league will cover the fee.

It’s time to kick off the 2015 season! Please download this year’s newsletter below and read it carefully. There are a number of changes from last year, including a brand new 50/70 Intermediate division to help bridge the step up from Majors to Juniors.

Our new on-line registration is now open! You can register several players in the same family with one pass through the form. Please consider signing up for volunteer roles in the league. Indicate an area of interest by putting a parent/guardian name in one of the fields.

It’s time to kick off the 2015 season! Please download this year’s newsletter below and read it carefully. There are a number of changes from last year, including a brand new 50/70 Intermediate division to help bridge the step up from Majors to Juniors.

LineUp Manager: An Excel workbook with macros that can help coaches plan lineups, field positions, and stats. Keeps track of season-long position, batting, and hitting stats. Free trial lets you track a few games.

GameChanger: iOS in-game scorekeeping app. Game review and stats are kept over a season for your team through their website.

Check out the handouts link below for a comprehensive coaching guide from Coach Brad D’Orazio that complements his clinics. There are league-specific coaching tips, drills, and practice plans included as well.

Practice sheets (the attachments links below) and videos are courtesy Coach D’Orazio. Videos may take a minute to load depending on your connection speed.

All players must submit a Medical Release Form (Spanish) to you. Please keep them with your coaching gear so you have them whenever you are practicing or playing a game in case of an emergency.

Other useful safety information is in the handouts link below including important information for you and your players’ parents about identifying and dealing with concussions. You should also visit the CDC’s Heads Up campaign to increase awareness, diagnosing, and prevention of head injuries. All players and parents need to read, sign, and return the Concussion Acknowledgment Form, which you or your team parent should collect and turn into the league. There is a free on-line course offered by the National Federation of High Schools (NFHS) where you can learn quite a bit more about the impact of concussions, how to identify them, and how to manage them.

Arm injuries are becoming more prevalent due to a combination of poor throwing mechanics and overuse. Adhering to the Little League mandated pitch counts and days of rest is a good start. Learning how to coach better technique will also help our players stay healthy. We have had two talks in recent years from members of the UW Health Sports Medicine staff. These are available below, along with some video demos of useful practice drills to promote proper warm-up and reinforce better throwing mechanics.

Don’t forget that pitchers can now finish an at-bat to the current batter when crossing a days-of-rest or pitch limit threshold. They then observe rest required for the threshold crossed in that final batter, not the total pitch count. See the rules for the exact details of this change from a few seasons ago.

Here is a document that describes the Little League pitch count rule along with a log for keeping track of pitching during a game.

Prospective coaches need to fill out and submit the on-line Coaching Application (available soon). Then download, read, fill out, and submit the following two forms:

Coach Code of Conduct

One of the Volunteer Background Check forms.
If you coached for us last year, you can fill out the “Returning” form this year.

Bring these forms to the mandatory Coaches Meeting on Wednesday February 18 or e-mail them to vllpresident@gmail.com. If this is your first year coaching, we will also need to make a copy of your driver’s license (or other government-issued photo ID, e.g., passport, etc.) at the coaches meeting.

All players need to complete a Medical Release form and the Concussion Acknowledgement form for coaches to have on-hand during the season. Submit these to your team parent or coach at the first practice.

Parents can find details about the supplementary accident insurance provided by Little League International for all our players in the “What Parents Should Know” handouts below.